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	  <td width="800px" valign="middle" class="legend"><p><b>MapBlog Instructor Notes</b> <b>and Tips</b></p>
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<p>As the instructor for a course that uses the MapBlog learning object  there are few things you'll want to know about how the MapBlog works. </p>
<p><strong>What is the MapBlog exactly?<br />
</strong>The MapBlog is a learning object that allows students to share  geographically referenced information by linking documents to locations  on a map. These locations can be anything from Civil War  battlefields, to the locations of current events, to locations where  invasive species are found in the student's home town. If you can  imagine &quot;seeing it on a map&quot; then the MapBlog can be used to allow  students to organize and share that information. </p>
<p>The ESC MapBlog Learning object is based on the popular Google Maps  online mapping system. This has the advantage that many students will  already be familiar with basic map operations like panning and zooming.  And it is increasingly likely that they will have already used one  of the growing number of similar tools (similar to the MapBlog) that  allow people to associate all kinds of information with locations shown  on Internet based maps. This type of application is called a &quot;mashup&quot;  and popular mashups based on Google Maps allow people to associate  photos with map locations, or place their favorite restaurants on the  map, etc. The MapBlog was designed to adapt this idea for academic use.  If you are not familiar with the idea of &quot;mashups&quot; we have a <a href="http://escsmart.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-is-mashup-mashup-is-combination-of.html" target="_blank">short write up on mashups</a> on the ESC SMART Site blog that you may find helpful. </p>
<p><strong>What purpose does this serve? What will the students learn?<br />
</strong>The answer to that question will of course depend on how the  MapBlog is used in your course. There are a number of ways that the  MapBlog can be used and you should consult with your Area Coordinator  and Instructional Designer to select an appropriate use. If you are  interested in the pedagogy that underlies our thinking on the use of  this tool, take a look at; <a href="http://cnx.org/content/m13693/latest/" target="_blank">Placing History: Introducing geographic information systems in the context of current humanities research</a>.   You may even want your students to read this, it will give  them some context on the use of the MapBlog. </p>
<p>Beyond your disciplinary goals for the use of the MapBlog, the tool  introduces students to use a technology, and an approach to information  sharing, that is common in the business world. The MapBlog provides students with a gentle  introduction to geographic information systems (GIS) and to what is  being called &quot;Web 2.0&quot; (the mashup idea mentioned above). While  teaching technology may be the last thing you want to do in your  course, the use of the MapBlog requires students to think critically  about the use of technology and how it can be used to solve real-world  problems. For an introduction to the use of web based GIS technology in this way see: <a href="http://web.ebscohost.com.library.esc.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=3&amp;hid=3&amp;sid=4d4ccb8b-1f86-4a63-be95-5c13e72a0800%40sessionmgr2" target="_blank">Developing and Testing an Online Tool for Teaching GIS<br />
</a>(Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 28, No. 3,
  425&plusmn;438, November 2004 from the ESC online library)</p>
<p>&nbsp; </p>
<p><strong>Where can I practice without messing up the MapBlog for my course?<br />
  </strong>There is a test and demo version of the MapBlog at: <a href="http://www4.esc.edu/mapblogs/practice/practice.html?category=module1&amp;sec=1" target="_blank"><strong>http://www4.esc.edu/mapblogs/practice/practice.html?category=module1&amp;sec=1</strong></a><br />
  <br />
  <strong>How will students learn how to use the MapBlog?</strong><br />
  We've created a narrated tutorial that shows students everything they  need to know to use the MapBlog. A link to the tutorial is found on the  MapBlog home page, and if you have not viewed the tutorial you can view it here; <a href="http://www.esc.edu/smart/students/flash/mapblog/mapblog_v2.htm" target="_blank"><strong>the MapBlog tutorial</strong></a>.  There is also a link to a help document for students on the standard  MapBlog home page.<br />
  <br />
  <strong>How do students create the documents (pages) that they link to the map?</strong> <br />
  Any web page, or for that matter any web resource that can viewed in a  web browser, can be linked with a marker placed on a MapBlog. Your students can add markers and associate those markers with standard web pages (from a news site or some other source). Or they can add links to course documents that they create. </p>
<p>Having your students link the map markers with documents in your course has the advantage that it allows you to evaluate  their work right in the course, and it means that their work will persist  after the course ends (general web pages, or documents stored on external servers, tend to disappear at inopportune times). The narrated  tutorial mentioned above shows students how to create linkable  documents in your course, and it shows them how to associate those documents with a  marker on the MapBlog. <br />
  <br />
  That said, note that the course documents that are used with the MapBlog are not standard course documents.  As your students will learn from the tutorial, to associate a course  document with an external application like the MapBlog, the documents  (which are really web pages) must be created in the &quot;team files&quot; area  found under the Communications tab of your course. This is necessary  because the Angel Course Management system normally hides everything  inside of a course from outside linking. The &quot;Team Files&quot; area provides a  way to overcome this limitation. </p>
<p>To provide access to the Team Files area  each student is automatically assigned to a team of one.  These &quot;one person teams&quot; are given a file storage space in the Team  Files are. Within each student's  Team Files area the student can create documents (web pages) using the  built-in HTML editor, or the student can upload web pages created using  other tools including Microsoft Word and other word processors. <br />
    <br />
    <strong> How do students add a marker to the Map?</strong> Adding a marker to the map is easy, but the student will need to know three things. <br />
  1:     Most important is where the marker will go, the help instructs student's to first identify the exact location to be marked. <br />
  <br />
  2: The student needs to know the URL (web address) of the page that  will be linked with the map location. When the student clicks on the  map to add a location, he/she will be prompted to provide the URL of  the page to be linked with that marker. As discussed above, this will  typically be the URL of a page created specifically for this purpose in  your course, but it could also be the URL of any existing web page or  resource. <br />
  <br />
  3: The student needs to know his or her &quot;nickname&quot;. As an instructor  you'll want to know which student added which markers, so when a marker  is added the student is prompted to provide his or her &quot;nickname&quot; which  then identifies the creator of the marker. The students are instructed  to use firstnamelastname with no spaces (i.e. johndoe or janesmith) and  this will work fine except in the unlikely occurrence that two students  have the same first and last names.&nbsp;But there is nothing special about  these nicknames, so if there is a name conflict you can instruct your  students to use any name that will resolve the issue (first name - middle initial for example). </p>
<p><strong>How do students delete a marker that is wrong in some way?</strong> <br />
  When a student is in &quot;add locations&quot; mode, he or she will be able to  delete the just added marker. And before leaving the page the student will be prompted to check the link. Once a student adds another marker, or leave the &quot;Add Locations&quot; page,  it is no longer possible to make corrections and they will have to request that you to do it. This is a security issue. Since we don't  require students to login to the MapBlog we can't know positively who  the user is, so we can't allow the deletion of markers except for the  one just added by that person. </p>
<p><strong>How do I delete MapBlog entries? What are the MapBlog Utilities? </strong><br />
  We have provided two utilities to assist you in managing the use of the  MapBlog in your course. Every course that has a MapBlog also has a  folder  named, MapBlog Utilities and  Instructor Notes (not visible to students). You will find links to the two utilities inside the  document found in that folder.</p>
<p><strong>Utility 1)</strong> <strong>The delete markers utility</strong> allows you to  remove any invalid markers. Simply click a marker on the map to select  it. The information associated with the marker is shown in the &quot;Details&quot;  area on the right side. Check over the information carefully to ensure  that you selected the correct marker and then click the delete button. Note: The delete utility has been changed so that deleted records can now be recovered if needed. </p>
<p> <strong>Utility 2) The MapBlog Data View</strong> allows you to see all of  the entries added to your course in a table view. Links are provided so  that you can open and view the documents that your students have linked  to their MapBlog entries. <br />
    <br />
    <strong> What do the numbers on the markers mean?</strong> Some courses are using the MapBlog learning object in more than one  module. The number indicates the module the map marker is associated  with. In the near future we will add an option that makes it possible  to show or hide markers by module, but right now all markers for a course show  up. <br />
    <br />
    <strong> How do I get help if something isn't working right?</strong> <br />
  Since this tool is new, and bit complicated, we are providing extra  support to instructors. If you have any problems, or if students report  problems, contact Kent Stanton for assistance.&nbsp; If the system is not  functioning correctly it's OK to call in the evening or on a weekend.  For minor issues please send email. kent.stanton@esc.edu <br />
  518-587-2100 ext 2823 (at the office)<br />
  518-584-7693 (nights and weekends - please don't give this out to students) </p>
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